GLOBE40 to return for third edition

The GLOBE40 unveils the program for its third edition, providing a round-the-world race for Class40s which combines high-level performance, human adventure, and the discovery of new regions.

The format has been optimized to improve accessibility and allow for longer stopovers at the skippers’ request: a prologue and five legs instead of six, with the total duration reduced from eight months to seven.

Eight teams started the second edition on September 14, 2025 from Cadiz, Spain, with the winner finishing on April 15, 2026 in Lorient, France.

The schedule has been revised, with the start planned for late September 2028 and the finish in April 2029, to avoid the constraints of a mid-summer departure and to benefit from favorable weather conditions.

Two new major ocean legs are proposed: a direct Atlantic route from Europe to South Africa and a full Indian Ocean leg between South Africa and Australia. The South American leg (Atlantic side) will also feature a new destination. This amounts to a total of 29,079 nautical miles via the direct route (1,380 fewer than in 2025/2026) and an estimated 118 days at sea for the winner.

Some favored stopovers from the second edition—Cádiz, Sydney, and Valparaíso—remain to be confirmed for the third. The program presented is therefore provisional; while discussions are well advanced, the details have yet to be finalized contractually.

The original rules remain in place: two-person crews, the option to swap a crew member at each stopover, a course meeting the International Federation’s Category 1 equipment standards, a points-based ranking, and two rankings, general and sharps for amateurs.

Feedback from the second edition led to a few adjustments: scoring coefficients have been smoothed out to avoid the disproportionate impact of a single exceptionally good or bad leg; all long stages exceeding 5,000 miles now carry the same coefficient (2); a “joker” option has been introduced, allowing a competitor to miss the start of one—and only one—leg while still starting the next and remaining in contention for the overall ranking.

Regarding safety, the emergency towing sail invented by Yves Partier (Liberty Kite) is now mandatory—in the event of dismasting where a jury rig is not feasible, this sail flies completely on its own once deployed and allows the boat to reach land rather than drifting aimlessly across the vast Southern Ocean.

There have also been changes to sail requirements following updates to class rules, with the previously required spare sail now eliminated.

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